A train pulls in to a station in the province of Seville, Andalucia, Spain.

A train pulls in to a station in the province of Seville, Andalucia, Spain.

Photo: Getty Images/Gallo Images

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Passengers boarding a TGV at Charles De Gaulle.

Passengers boarding a TGV at Charles De Gaulle.

Photo: Getty Images

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A high speed train leaving a station.

A high speed train leaving a station.

Photo: Getty Images

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Japan, Shinkansen.

Japan, Shinkansen.

Photo: Getty Images

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High speed rail in the U.K.

High speed rail in the U.K.

Photo: Getty Images

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In France on the Viaduct of Verberie.

In France on the Viaduct of Verberie.

Photo: Getty Images/Photononstop RM

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A Shinkansen train at Kyoto Station.

A Shinkansen train at Kyoto Station.

Photo: Getty Images

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A high speed train in London.

A high speed train in London.

Photo: Getty Images

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A bullet train in Osaka, Japan

A bullet train in Osaka, Japan

Photo: Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

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A German ICE high speed train in Cologne station.

A German ICE high speed train in Cologne station.

Photo: Getty Images

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A German ICE high speed train in Cologne station.

A German ICE high speed train in Cologne station.

Photo: Getty Images

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A train arriving at a station in Japan.

A train arriving at a station in Japan.

Photo: Getty Images/Fuse

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A geisha waits on the station platform for a bullet train.

A geisha waits on the station platform for a bullet train.

Photo: Getty Images/National Geographic

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The Shinkansen bullet train stops at a station in Tokyo.

The Shinkansen bullet train stops at a station in Tokyo.

Photo: Getty Images/National Geographic

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High speed rail: an idea with no funding

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Whether or not parts of Texas can sustain high-speed, passenger rail service that also extends all the way to the border and to Monterrey, Mexico, is the subject of an ongoing study by the Texas Department of Transportation.

The study focuses on an 850-mile corridor from Oklahoma City to South Texas. Officials at a public meeting Thursday called this a “planning level” effort — there is no funding for construction yet, no alignments have been chosen and it’s not yet clear when, or if, the line could be operational.

But quite a number of folks showed up at Thursday’s public meeting; there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project but also a lot of questions, raising skepticism about why TxDOT is spending so much money just to study the issue, and whether this whole thing will actually go anywhere. One attendee made reference to the fact that agencies do these studies and then nothing ever happens — something that can get very frustrating.

Map courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Undoubtedtly, this project would be expensive. Building a passenger rail line that connects San Antonio to the Dallas/Fort Worth area could cost more than $10 billion, or about $35 million a mile, said Mark Walbrun, a consultant with CH2M Hill, the company working with TxDOT.

TxDOT got a $7 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to study the Oklahoma-Texas service. TxDOT is also studying extending the line to Monterrey and has requested additional funds from the FRA to do so — but the agency has yet to secure those dollars, said Mark Werner, TxDOT project manager. A Monterrey extension is expected to increase ridership significantly, Werner said.

This is separate from another effort by a private company to develop a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas, a project that received a lot of attention last month after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced at a conference in San Antonio that the federal government was working with TxDOT and the private sector on that proposal.

Officials are looking at the cost and impacts of developing three types of rail lines: conventional rail, which runs no more than 90 mph; higher speed rail, which travels 125 mph; and high-speed rail, which can travel up to 220 mph.

Several approximate routes for each route segment have been considered but TxDOT and its consultants have narrowed them down to two to three alternatives per segment. The next step is to launch a federal environmental impact statement, which should be complete by December, and also to study possible ways to fund the project, Werner said.

The northern section would run from roughly just north of Oklahoma City to Fort Worth and Dallas. This first section would be conventional rail, because service levels simply aren’t there to justify higher speeds, Walbrun said.

The middle section starts in the Fort Worth/Dallas area, would travel through Austin and then on to San Antonio — about 300 miles total — Werner said. Officials haven’t determined if they’d build conventional, higher speed or high-speed rail on this segment.

In the south, analysts are looking at three different lines: one that would travel from San Antonio to Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley; one that would go from San Antonio straight to Laredo and then possibly to Monterrey; and one that would connect all of those locations, plus include a possible link to Monterrey.

I talked to several people at the meeting who were all for the rail line. One person said, why has this taken so long? Another young man said he has actually stopped visiting Austin as frequently because of the traffic; he was delayed coming to Thursday’s meeting because of a wreck on the highway. A rail line could help him avoid those kinds of traffic snags, he said.

I also spoke to Raul Hinojosa, executive director of Rey Feo Scholarship Inc. His organization is interested in passenger rail because it could mean young people along the border might have a better connection to educational institutions in San Antonio.

“I think we can be the hub of South Texas,” he said.

It’s a nice idea. But will there be the political will, and the many billions of dollars to do it?